The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has distributed copies the Ghana Building Code to Municipal and District Chief Executives in the Western and Western-North Regions respectively.
As a statutory body responsible for the management of the nation’s quality infrastructure, GSA sensitized the MMDAs on the building code to ensure the safety of Ghanaians across the country.
The purpose of the code is to establish the minimum requirements to provide a reasonable level of security, public health and general welfare through structural strength and stability and means of escape facilities. Others include sanitation, adequate light and ventilation, energy conservation and safety to life and property from fire explosion and other hazards and to provide a level of safety to fire fighters.
The idea behind the Ghana Building Code is also to regulate building and construction environment documentation that can help individuals who want to put up structures to be monitored by engineers in the various district and municipal assemblies.
The Senior Scientific Officer at the Ghana Standard Authority Mr. Emmanuel Obeng highlighted the previous collapsed buildings that claimed several lives.
Some of the notable collapsed buildings include Melcom shop in November 2014, Grand View Hotel building at Nii Boi Town in 2012 and Methodist Kindergarten School block at Breman Jamra in the Central region on February 2017 among others.
According to him all these related collapsed buildings occurred due to the absence of adequate law enforcement. “The building code will help direct the process of setting up a structure to avoid any future occurrences” Mr. Obeng believes.
The Ghana Standard Authority Senior Scientific officer emphasized that there is a review on LI 1630 which will be the factored in the Ghana Building Code where users who violate the requirements of the documents would be sanctioned.
Story By: BENJAMIN BRAY-TAKORADI
Joe Bright Nyarko
Journalist/Communication Researcher. Environment & Sustainability Advocate. Managing Editor of aptnewsghana.com, a non-profit news portal with bias towards environment and sustainability issues, rural development policies and gender & inequality.
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